The Monday Roundup: what we are watching this week | November 28th

By Puja Sharma

The Monday Roundup sets the scene for the week’s biggest news stories, industry deals, and upcoming events. For Prime subscribers only.

Building bridges

The United Kingdom (UK) and Singapore held the 7th UK-Singapore Financial Dialogue in Singapore. Both countries renewed their commitment to deepening the UK-Singapore Financial Partnership that was agreed upon in 2021, discussed mutual priorities such as sustainable finance, FinTech, and innovation, and agreed on further cooperation in these areas.

At the Financial Dialogue, the UK and Singapore agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding on the UK-Singapore FinTech Bridge. The FinTech Bridge seeks to support continued growth, investment, and technological innovation in this sector, building on the active interest of FinTech players in the areas of payments, RegTech, and wealth management. Both countries strongly welcomed this deepened cooperation on FinTech and the opportunities the industry can deliver about financial inclusion, enhanced innovation, and improved outcomes for consumers.

Both countries recognised the importance of the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (DEA) signed earlier this year and the principle of the free flow of data that is enshrined in it. They noted the significance of this agreement in underpinning the development of respective FinTech sectors and supporting future digital and innovation partnerships.

A pre-seed funding round of $2.2 million has been announced by UK paytech Atoa, led by Leo Capital and Passion Capital. Angel investors such as Matt Robinson (co-founder of GoCardless and Nested) and Moon Capital Ventures also participated.

“There are more than four million small businesses in the UK which have no viable alternative to debit card payments and are reliant on Mastercard or Visa payment rails,” the start-up says. Atoa is keen “to challenge this status quo”, reduce payment fees by 70% (compared to the card machine fees from SumUp, Zettle, or Square), and “offer a new approach to making payments”.

Atoa was co-founded by Sid Narayanan, Cian O’Dowd, and Arun Rajkumar, who all previously founded Singapore KlearCard (acquired last year by Validus).

Versatile offerings

Viola Credit has provided $350m in funding to Balance, a B2B payments company that specializes in financing and eCommerce. Launched in early 2021, Balance provides an online checkout with omnichannel support for businesses. The company’s offering allows companies to process any payment method, offer flexible terms, and get paid instantly within one platform.

Balance said it has grown its customer base by ten times since its launch in February 2021, partnering with typically traditional offline industries such as food, steel, and chemicals. The Balance report states that merchants today demand and deserve increased control and flexibility over their cash flow.

️Independent payments processor Adumo has raised R190 million to further expand its operations in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to a report from FinTech Finance News, the round included an equity raise from adumo’s current shareholders, Apis Partners, Crossfin Holdings, and IFC’s FinTech division as well as a debt facility provided by Investec.​

The fresh funding will be used to increase adumo’s shareholding in GAAP to 80%, which will enhance adumo’s growth and expansion plans. GAAP specialises in the international hospitality industry, providing restaurants, hotels, and retail franchises integrated solutions.​

What is the buzz

BNPL player ZestMoney is close to being acquired by PhonePe for $200 million to $300 million. In September last year, the buy-now-pay-later startup raised $70 million in its Series C funding round, valuing it at $470 million, according to the local media report.

After the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued guidelines regarding digital lending, BNPL companies such as ZestMoney, LazyPay, Uni Cards, Slice, and others have faced a lot of uncertainty, making it difficult for FinTech startups to extend personal credit lines. While ZestMoney has been lending at checkout points, without a card, stringent guidelines have still affected the industry. A readymade consumer credit base is available to PhonePe instantly through ZestMoney.

Founded in 2015 by Lizzie Chapman, Priya Sharma, and Ashish Anantharaman, ZestMoney is based in Bengaluru. A $50 million funding round was completed in September last year from Prosus-owned PayU and Australian fintech Zip Co.

ZestMoney has raised about $142 million in equity funding. Other investors include Goldman Sachs, Ribbit Capital, and Xiaomi. Unlike Simpl and PayU’s LazyPay, which provides BNPL services for smaller, everyday purchases, Zest and Axio have focused on large-ticket items.